Standing up for education

Published
12:00 am CDT, Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Now that’s the way to do it.

Greenfield Community High School senior Elizabeth Bishop found herself in the midst of a celebration Tuesday. Surrounded by family, teachers and other classmates, Bishop discovered she was a recipient of just one of 10 Columbia College Scholarships — full-ride awards that cover tuition, room and board for the Missouri school.

The announcement was designed to be fun, a la Publisher’s Clearinghouse Prize Patrol — a little unusual for education honors, but perhaps it’s just what is needed.

It’s definitely an “A for originality” idea.

People who have no problem cheering as the football team makes another touchdown or standing up and applauding for a three-pointer quickly lower their level of enthusiasm inside the classroom.

Educational activities have always tended to be quiet and reserved. When was the last time the valedictorian was greeted with a loud “whoop-whoop-whoop” of approval, or balloons and confetti rained down on someone for correctly answering “Jupiter”?

What happens as a result is the educational excellence side of education can get overlooked — and there are some great things going on in the school systems across west-central Illinois.

Students know that. Educators know that. Parents know that.

But outside of those with some direct connection to the schools, the news can become lost. When that happens, it becomes easy for people to forget the importance of supporting all facets of education.

That leads to cuts in staffing and programs — usually the important arts-related programs — that short-change children.

It’s about to happen again, we fear.

Schools across the state have been cut beyond flesh and muscle during the past few years and have had to take some drastic measures to stay afloat. Even then, many districts are teetering on the brink of financial ruin.

Now comes word that the state Board of Education could see a reduction of school funding next year to the tune of $1 billion. The board had asked for a $1 billion increase just to make up for cuts that have taken place already.

We need to be clear about the importance of all levels of education in Illinois.

We need to remind lawmakers of the excellent things that are going on in education and why it’s important to continue pursuing such excellence.